Group bids on debt-ridden August Wilson Center

PITTSBURGH (AP) — A group of foundations has submitted a bid to buy the building of Pittsburgh’s debt-ridden August Wilson Center.

The Pittsburgh Foundation says it is part of a small group that submitted a bid to a bankruptcy judge last week.

Pittsburgh Foundation spokesman John Ellis says in a statement that the group wants to preserve the center and its purpose as the leading community resource for African-American arts programming.

The center honors the late Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright who grew up in Pittsburgh. It opened to great fanfare in a new 65,000-square-foot building in 2009. But the center was hampered by poor attendance and budget deficits.

A judge recently approved selling off the building to settle a mortgage default and other debts totaling about $10 million.